Urban Decay Ink For Eyes Photos, Review, Swatches
Urban Decay Ink For Eyes is creamy, eye liner goodness!
For fall, Urban Decay launched Ink For Eyes ($22.00 each), which is a brand new cream eyeliner available in six shades just dead-on perfect for the upcoming fall season. Urban Decay tells us their secret ingredient is Nylon 12, which is an ingredient that limits drag for a smoother, more precise application while it softens and absorbs excess oil. I put on Zero yesterday, and it didn‘t smudge or fade on me, so I’m pretty happy with the wear on these so far.
The packaging is sleek and edgy, with a peacock drawing on the cover of the gunmetal-gray box. Flip it open, and you’ll find a sleek, narrow mirror, a double-ended brush (smudge tip and angled brush), plus the star – a strip of the actual ink.
- Binge is a rich, dark navy blue. It’s blue without being bright, and it’s dark without losing all of the blue. It’s definitely more navy blue than black-blue, too. You can also go less heavy to get a little more blue to stand out or go heavier and get a deeper color.
- Empire is a deep violet-purple with a little bit of sheen/glimmer. It’s pigmented, smooth, and really creamy when applied with a brush.
- Demolition is a deep, dark brown. It’s not too warm–almost seems cool-toned to me–and intense. Very creamy and chocolately.
- Zero is an intense, rich black. There’s really not much else to describe it as — it’s really quite black! I am *all* over liners and mascaras that are this rich in black.
- Loaded is a medium-deep forest green with tiny greenish-silver shimmer. It has good color pay off, and I love that it’s noticeably green, but it isn’t bright or OTT at all.
- Pyrotechnics is a sheer, glittery base. It has multi-colored glitter and goes on mostly clear. Layer it over one of the others or underneath one of the others to add more glitz!
Of the six, my favorites would have to be Zero (for how pitch-black it is), Empire (because can you just imagine how gorgeous it would be with Fishnet layered on top?), and Pyrotechnics (love that you can add glitter in an easy-to-use pencil form). What are your favorites? Have you tried these yet?
See product photos and swatches…
I’m liking that blue!
Awesome – think you’ll get it?
I purchased the green and the navy one – now I want the black too! Thx for the review!
Yay! How are you liking them, Kayra?
I put on Zero yesterday, and it did smudge or fade on me, so I’m pretty happy with the wear on these so far.
I’m a little confused by that. :/
I use the UD liquid eyeliner in perversion and that is pretty black, but i may have to try out the Zero…. i don’t know what my recent obsession has been with eyeliners but thanks Christine for reviewing them!
Sorry, that should be didn’t 🙂
OMGosh! I’m in love!
DITTO X
Yay!
I soooo want to try these…they look so pretty
Which stand out to you, Jennifer?
I need Loaded. It’s very pretty.
It’s a good color!
ooo…a rich black eyeliner. i think i want to try this!
I hope you get a chance to, Evo!
How long do these last on the waterline?
BTW, I heard that the new L’oreal HIP loose kohls are SUPER longlasting! I’m def goin out to buy one soon.
The loose kohls get EVERYWHERE. You also need to be super careful with putting the applicator back in the tube, my navy one bent super easily and ruined it 🙁
They are really, really nice, but you need to let them set or they will get all over your lid haha!
As long as you are careful, they are really nice.
The loose kohls are horrible as they just create the worst fall-out everywhere. Pure mess. Those have been out for awhile though so when you were thinking “new” were you thinking of the new HIP metallic kohl pencils that came out? I have heard that those are really longlasting. Getting good reviews so far.
Haha, I probably misspoke. I meant new to *me* 🙂 I’ve yet to try their new Chrome pencils, but I probably will unless I fall in love with the HIP kohls. Then again, I’ve heard so many rave reviews that if I stick to that, I might NEVER try the Color Chromes ;D
Actually I have to strongly disagree. If you tap the loose kohl wand before you apply, it greatly improves fallout. And it IS TRUE that these kohls last hours and hours. This eyeliner in brown has become my Holy Grail for its longlastingness and smokiness. I recommend giving it a try since different application techniques appeal to different people. You won’t know till you try! 🙂
Thanks for all the impromptu reviews, guys! I’m always looking for the perfect smokey liner that actually stays on the waterline! How’s the ease of application? Is it like applying a loose powder, or finely milled creamy kohl bits? To finish my interrogation, what’s the LEAST longlasting shade?
Waterline for me is only a few hours, but nothing stays more than that for me, unfortunately!
those are gorgeous! I want the black, purple, and maybe the glitter… I really love the little peacock design!
I love the glittery one! So fun!
wow i want these!
Which one’s your fave, Jojoba?
ohh this looks like a must have…
I like ’em!
Me want loaded!! Looks so pretty.-@ditut
You should get it, Dita!
These look amazing! I don’t know about the packaging though – it’s gorgeous (I love peacocks!) but the mirror and brush seem like such a waste of space. I hate that they’re charging so much for the novelty and design rather than the actual product. And I’ll probably buy them anyway because I have no willpower hahaha.
It’s pretty compact — I mean, it didn’t really feel bulky to me. I agree that the packaging is novelty-ish, though!
I can’t wait to get my hands on these!
Could someone do a swatch of pyrotechnics over/under one of the others? I’d love to see what that looks like. 🙂
I’ll try to!
ooh pyrotechnics is pretty!!!
I know! It is!
Oh wowzas. cant wait to try that Zero and Empire!!!!!!
i cant live without eyeliner 😛
can you show us a look with one of these eyeliners, preferably empire?
I’ll try to, Sarah!
oh my god, I’ve been dying to try these, but I can only find them on Urban Decay’s website and they don’t ship to Canada! does anyone know when Sephora’s getting them??
Right now they’re only on UD’s site, but I imagine they’ll get on Sephora’s in a couple of weeks or so!
thanks for the response, I guess I’ll just have to wait!
*taps fingers, looks at watch*
lol! 😛
Now that you’ve given these the thumbs up, I’m so gonna get them!! Zero really does look DARK! But mannn…. I have like 5 types of black gel/cream/cake liner… Empire and Binge looks awfully gorgeous too
Hope you like them, Connie 😀
Do these dry like gel liners? Or are they more like Smashbox cream liners?
I found they dried more like gel liners!
These look amazing! I am starting to become a huge UD fan!!!
Yay! What are your fave UD products so far?
I’m loving the Purple, Navy and Black!
Perhaps the green too… ahhhhh!
Beautiful!!!!!
Uh oh, sounds like you may like them all 😛
Thanks for the swatches and the review. Will they carry these at sephora? And can you wear them on the waterline?
No prob, Yarid! As far as I know, they will — probably in a few weeks. Yes, you can wear them there as far as I’ve been told!
I ADORE the packaging! UD needs to be available in Europe, the only place I can buy this is online.
Aww, I wish you could get UD easier!
definitely replacing stila smudgepot with this. the blue and purple look gorgeous and the black is so inky and perfect.
Awesome 🙂 I hope you like ’em, Liz!
Are they safe for use on waterlines?
I do believe so, it didn’t come with any warnings against it.
What is the amount of product? I may stick with my blacktrack for now since it looks about the same.
2.5g
I think I just came a little bit! o_o
lol!
Can you use these on your waterline?
I do believe so. I haven’t heard/read anything that said not to.
pretty…. but I’m wondering if those swatches had dried already when you took the pics or if they have a “wet” look to them.. that would be awesome!
Ooh, I’m also wondering this. E.g. the brown and black colors look shiny; are they always this way?
Mine dried down quite a bit!
No, they hadn’t yet dried, sorry!
As usual with Urban Decay products, the packaging looks inefficient and counter-intuitive. However, I’m willing to overlook it for that purple lol.
LOL, aww!
im loving the purpleee
how water/tear resistant would u say these are cuz my eyes like to water up a lot and i have lots of problems with eyeliner dissapearing from the corners of my eyes on the waterline, even if i set it with a couple layers of shadow haha
pyrotechnics looks good too…would love to see some pictures of it layered over some of the colours 😀
I found that if I smeared it with my finger with water, they would smudge a bit, but if it was just a little bit, I didn’t have problems – like when I wore them on my eyes.
The waterline is pretty tough to get ANYTHING to stay on though – this only lasts a few hours on my waterline!
I want all of them!!
Haha, nice 😉
These look really nice, and I love the range of colors (especially the purple), but I worry that the package doesn’t seal tight enough to keep these from drying out over time… What are your thoughts Christine? Do you think the packaging will be enough to keep that gel consistency in the long run?
I also think they are just a bit pricy… I recently fell in love with Stila’s smudge pots and they are around the same price… The packaging is not az glitzy, but the product is amazing! Goes on smooth and stays in place all day… I think I will have to check these out in person before I decide…
its not just the packaging, there’s less product in the smudgepot. i love mine but if i test this out and like it, ill probably replace.
I see what you mean about the quantity of product. That definitely makes this item ALOT more reasonable… however I wish they offered a smaller size at a lower price. I know I will never use all of that liner before it passes its freshness.
I will have to go give these a test and see how they preform. I love the Stila Smudge Pots because the liner is smooth, the color is dense and they stay in place. If these can perform in a similar way then I would definitely consider purchasing them. I am still dubious of the packaging, I know how important a tight seal is for keeping your liner creamy.
I see people have reqested to know if the product stays shiny like that when dry. I too would like to know this, if so that is a great selling point for these as most gel liners dry rather matte.
These do dry down quite a bit, I wouldn’t say they look wet when used!
I think it closes tightly enough not to have any concerns about it, but maybe if you’re talking years of storage you’d run into that issue.
oooh la la… i like the peacocks too
I know, so pretty 🙂
Anyone know how these compare to MAC Fluidline?
A little creamier, I’d say. They seem thinner, too.
Mine came the other day, and they seem dry 🙁 I don’t get the nice, intense swatches Christine did…I might send them back for an exchange. Maybe I got a bad batch.
Get through the top layer — I dug my brush in 🙂
i wnt the blue, purple, black, and green one!
Good picks, Kim!
Christine,
Does Mac have similar colors in Fluidline? I really like the blue, brown & green ones.
Actually… not really. I think maybe Rich Ground would be the only one similar.
hey christine! which one would you recommend to go with dark brown eyes, the blue or the purple (since they’re like located at the opposite side of the wheel or something like that)?
Brown eyed girls are super lucky, ANY colour looks great on us 😀
But if you REALLY want your eyes to pop get the purple, then probably the blue or green
I’d say the blue!
The purple and blue ones are hot.
Indeed!
I wonder how these compare to Stila smudgepots, MAC Fluidlines, and the Bobbi Brown creme liners. Can you do a comparison Christine? Not color by color, clearly that would take so long, but which do you prefer and are the colors really that vibrant? (I tried similar colors by MAC and was sadly disappointed by the lack of pigmentation in the Fluidlines, particularly the navy and purple.)
Clinique also makes creme liners that I’ve heard are good. I’d like to see a comparison like that.
I like Clinique’s creme liners, but they tend to look a little more subtle.
To be honest, they’re all similar to me. I don’t find any of them to be really superior to the others. I find Smudgepots to be creamier, wetter, though they do dry down. Fluidline is a bit thicker, but some can be drier than others (it can be more hit or miss). I’ve never had any issues with pigmentation with Fluidlines, though – they’ve all been intense for me!
paired empire with the new nars lolita silk road duo for work today – gorgeous!
Ohh, nice!
Christine, just out of curiosity, did you try one of the included brushes? I generally tend to use my own brushes anyway, but I was wondering if those are any good. Thanks for the swatches!
I only used the included brushes with these! They’re decent, not fab, but decent for included brushes!
I would like a comparison too. I have a few fluidline’s and also the Loreal HIP cream eyeliners.
These are a little creamier than Fluidlines, but they’re a little thinner, too. I think they have less drag than Fluidlines, too.
excited2 try these especially the pyrotechnics one as the liquid liner in this colour is not available in uk do you think the blue Urban decay liner is similar 2 MAC delf paintpot??x
Nah, I don’t think it’s similar to Deflt at all!
I love these! I have Zero and Binge. I am not very good at putting on cream eyeliners, but these go on so easily. I actually love the included brush. I had been using Mac 266 for my fluidline, but it is more difficult for me than the ink for eyes. Is there a better/similar brush by mac that I can get for my fluidlines? 266 is too thick. Has anyone tried the urban decay angled brush? It says it’s for brows, but can be used for liners. BTW, I really want Empire Ink for Eyes!
So glad these are working out for you, Monica!! 🙂 I love the 208 for fluidline 🙂
um christine i saw you tell someone else the brushes were decent. i dont own an eyeliner brush but are these good enough that i wont have to buy one?
If you’re just starting out and/or on a budget, yes, I think they’re just fine to use 🙂
thanks. im just starting out and on a budget as well so i wouldnt know what brand has good brushes anyways. i will definitely be checking these eyeliners out!
No problem, Celeste! My favorite is MAC’s 208 for upper lash lining with gel or cream liners.
I am hopelessly divided between Stila’s Black Cat Smudge Pot and the UD Zero Ink. Which one do you personally like better? I am so wishy washy!
LOL! I like Black Cat more, but I like the shimmer in it 🙂
so i was reading other reviews about this and some said they werent very pigmented. about how many coats did you need to build a strong color?
You need to get through the top layer, and then it’s fine, no particularly special application process required!
Will these ink for eyes dry out if not used in a long time?
Mine haven’t!
Just bought ‘binge’ today for myself for Christmas (yes you can buy yourself Christmas presents!), but my Mum has confiscated it to wrap up, so I’ll have to wait to test it! But it went on my hand lovely, was really soft and creamy.
I’m kinda iffy with eyeliners i like mine to stay put all day not wipe off for a thing until i am ready to take it off so if these are that way i would def get one
awwww i love mac makee upp!!! =)
I know this is an old post so I hope you see this cristine. Whats better, these or MAC’s fluidline?
I prefer fluidlines!